Game 1 – 7:00 ET, AHL LiveTwo teams carrying loads of momentum collide in this year’s Eastern Conference Finals as Syracuse hosts Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in Game 1 tonight… The Crunch are a perfect 7-0 this postseason following series sweeps of Portland and Springfield, while the Penguins are coming off four consecutive season-saving victories over Providence as they became the third team in AHL history to win a series after going down 0-3… Syracuse’s trio of Ondrej Palat (4-11-15), Richard Panik (4-4-8) and regular-season AHL MVP Tyler Johnson (7-7-14) have combined to score half of the team’s 30 goals this postseason… Cedrick Desjardins (7-0, 2.02, .916), who enters the series on a personal 10-game winning streak for the Crunch going back to the regular season, owns a 13-4 record in 17 career AHL playoff appearances… Mark Barberio (3-1-4), who entered the postseason with three goals in 24 career AHL playoff games, had three in the first two rounds this year… Brad Thiessen (5-1, 0.89, .970) was the star of Wilkes-Barre’s comeback over Providence, stopping 177 of 181 shots (0.70, .978) in the series… From the second period of Game 4 until the end of Game 7, the Penguins outscored the Bruins 14-1 despite being outshot 133-86… Trevor Smith (4-7-11), who played for the Crunch in 2010-11 and was teammates with several current Syracuse players in Norfolk last season, has 3-3-6 in Wilkes-Barre’s last three games… Syracuse leads the AHL in playoff scoring (4.29 goals per game) and is second in defense (2.14 goals allowed per game)… The Pens enter the series with the AHL’s top-ranked power play in the playoffs (25.5 percent), while their penalty killing has snuffed out 20 consecutive chances.

Eastern Conference Finals – Series “M”3-Syracuse Crunch vs. 5-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PenguinsGame 1 – Sat., May 25 – W-B/Scranton at Syracuse, 7:00Game 2 – Sun., May 26 – W-B/Scranton at Syracuse, 7:00Game 3 – Wed., May 29 – Syracuse at W-B/Scranton, 7:05Game 4 – Fri., May 31 – Syracuse at W-B/Scranton, 7:05*Game 5 – Sat., June 1 – W-B/Scranton at Syracuse, 7:00*Game 6 – Mon., June 3 – Syracuse at W-B/Scranton, 7:05*Game 7 – Wed., June 5 – W-B/Scranton at Syracuse, 7:00 *if necessary… All times EasternGame 2 – 7:00 ET, AHL Live (GR leads series, 1-0)Landon Ferraro‘s goal 2:35 into the second period snapped a 1-1 tie and held up as the difference as Grand Rapids edged Oklahoma City, 2-1, in last night’s opener of the Western Conference Finals… Two of the three goals scored by Ferraro (3-7-10) this postseason have been game-winners… The Barons had scored 16 goals in the final three games of their second-round series vs. Texas, but got just one puck past Petr Mrazek (8-4, 2.09, .911)… Mrazek’s 27 saves matched his single-game high for this postseason… Griffins defenseman Brennan Evans (1-1-2), who had gone 109 games without a goal since scoring on Feb. 21, 2012 (with Peoria), pocketed the first playoff goal of his 10-year pro career… Riley Sheahan (1-9-10), Tomas Tatar (8-4-12), Mitch Callahan (1-2-3) and Tomas Jurco (4-5-9) all had an assist last night for Grand Rapids, which is 4-0 all-time in best-of-seven AHL playoff series after winning Game 1… Andrew Hotham (2-3-5) scored the Barons’ only goal, assisted by Jonathan Cheechoo (2-5-7) and Mark Arcobello (9-7-16)… Arcobello extended his scoring streak to eight games and took over sole possession of the lead in the AHL playoff scoring race… Yann Danis (7-4, 2.18, .935) stopped 26 of 28 shots for Oklahoma City… Grand Rapids’ first 12 playoff games have all followed three-game patterns of lose-win-win.

Western Conference Finals – Series “N” (best-of-7) 3-Grand Rapids Griffins vs. 5-Oklahoma City Barons Game 1 – Fri., May 24 – GRAND RAPIDS 2, Oklahoma City 1Game 2 – Sat., May 25 – Oklahoma City at Grand Rapids, 7:00 Game 3 – Wed., May 29 – Grand Rapids at Oklahoma City, 8:00 Game 4 – Fri., May 31 – Grand Rapids at Oklahoma City, 8:00*Game 5 – Sat., June 1 – Grand Rapids at Oklahoma City, 8:00*Game 6 – Tue., June 4 – Oklahoma City at Grand Rapids, 7:00 *Game 7 – Wed., June 5 – Oklahoma City at Grand Rapids, 7:00 *if necessary… All times EasternAbout Last Night…James Neal, who played 62 games with the AHL’s Iowa Stars as a rookie in 2007-08, recorded three goals and an assist and former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman Kris Letang added a goal and two assists as Pittsburgh advanced to the NHL’s Eastern Conference Finals with a 6-2 win over Ottawa in Game 5… Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre are now both four wins away from reaching their respective league championship series, a feat they accomplished previously in 2008.

Eastern Conference Finals HistoryThe Richard F. Canning Trophy is presented each season to the playoff champions of the AHL’s Eastern Conference… Either Syracuse or Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will be the 10th consecutive conference champion to come out of the East Division… Here are the results of the Eastern Conference Finals since the league split into two conferences in 1995-96:

Western Conference Finals HistoryThe Robert W. Clarke Trophy is presented each season to the playoff champions of the AHL’s Western Conference… Either Grand Rapids or Oklahoma City will be the eighth different conference champion in the last eight years… Here are the results of the Western Conference Finals since the league split into two conferences in 1995-96:

Helping HandsThe American Hockey League has made a donation to the American Red Cross to help our neighbors in Barons Country after this week’s devastating tornadoes in the Oklahoma City area. Visit redcross.org to find out how you can help also.

AHL LiveDon’t miss a second on the road to the 2013 Calder Cup championship. AHL Live brings AHL action to your computer all season long with live video webcasts and highlights of every AHL game, as well as behind-the-scenes features and interviews in the Video On Demand section… Visit ahllive.com for details.